The View from House #38

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We have just finished Day 4 out of 6 of our build. The frames and foundation were placed prior to our arrival. We have been spending the last 4 days weaving sawing, weaving, and trimming bamboo, and now we are in the process of puttering plaster over the walls both in and out. After that the walls will be painted and door and windows placed. It is an indescribable experience...hot, very hot, humid, sweaty, tiring. I think I have gained enough skills to use the bamboo in my back yard to build a dog house for Barry. And I may be asking for a Leatherman for my next birthday 😊.
We are lucky enough to be located right next to the school, so we see the children coming and going. They don't start until 10 am, and it seems as though they have lots of breaks because they are always coming to visit us. Though I think this build is a monumental event for the community, as seen the first day as we arrived to the site 2 hours late because we stopped for the greeting the comminuty had for us. At one point on the way to the houses, we all got off the buses and walked across a bridge flanked by at least 150 children all giving us "namaste" greetings and handing us flowers.
The children make my day. A few of them have learned our names and at least several times a day I hear "Hi Kim!! How are you?" coming from one of them. And Namaste. I think they have discovered we think they have HIGH CUTENESS FACTOR every time we hear Namaste and see the folded hands. And there is an inverse ratio in regards to SIZE OF CHILD: DEGREE OF CUTENESS, i.e those little toddlers doing Namaste will melt your heart.
The things I see every day while building:
An amazing view of a green, green valley
A BEAUTIFUL house progressing before my eyes. Who knew woven bamboo was so beautiful? It really is.
A combination of americans, led by a Kiwi house builder, hard at work on House #38.
The house family helping cut, saw, whittle., mix plaster. I tried to pull a splinter out of the grandmother's finger and saw how calloused her hands were.
Volunteers from Nepal, including college students, construction workers, and Habitat Nepal helping out, bringing cold Cokes, water and mango juice.

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Photos

Annapurna
View on way to work for the day

Comments

[Janet]

Bamboo hut for Barry
Maybe a palm frond hut for Barry?

[Amy]

It sounds like such a great experience! The view looked awesome in some of your previous pics. Can't wait to see barry's dog house.